Budo and the Art of Japanese Calligraphy

Have you ever tried Japanese calligraphy?

Did you know that practicing calligraphy can actually help with your martial arts?

Shodo, or the “Way of calligraphic art,” is studied by a multitude of Japanese, from college professors to housewives. However, even in Japan few fully grasp the connection between budo and shodo or how Japanese brush writing can be used as an exceptionally effective form of supplemental training for the budoka. This holds true despite the fact that many past masters of the martial arts were also masters of shodo. Well-known martial artists such as Miyamoto Musashi; aikido's founder, Ueshiba Morihei Sensei; judo’s founder, Kano Jigoro Sensei; and Muto Ryu kenjutsu's founder, Yamaoka Tesshu Sensei are all held in equally high regard as calligraphers.

Like budo, shodo is ultimately a means of cultivating the personality by developing positive subconscious habits. Martial arts author Michel Random wrote, “It is said that internal serenity drives the brush. The brush in effect interprets the deepest part of the subconscious. The 'wisdom of the eye' is what relates the characters to each other as though assembling the movable and the immutable, the ego to the 10,000 things in the universe, the present to the timeless.”

ONE BRUSH STROKE, ONE CHANCE

Each brush stroke in Japanese calligraphy must be perfectly executed since the artist never goes back to touch up any character. Each movement of the fude, or “brush,” is ideally performed with the full force of one's mind and body, as if one's very life depended upon the successful completion of each action. It is this spirit of decisiveness, of unhesitatingly throwing 100% of oneself into the moment's action that perhaps most clearly connects budo and the art of Japanese calligraphy.

In shodo all mistakes are final, just as in the martial arts a mistake ultimately, or at least symbolically, results in the budoka's death. For this reason, many beginners in calligraphy lack the spiritual strength to paint the character decisively. Each stroke mustbe delivered like the slash of the bushi's sword, yet the brush must be held in a relaxed manner as well as manipulated without a loss of controlled calmness. Through rigorous training, a kind of seishin tanren (“spiritual forging”), the student's mental condition is altered, and this change in consciousness is carried into the individual's daily life as well. For the budoka, the added strength and composure that’s cultivated by Japanese calligraphy allows him or her to more instantly respond to an opponent's attack without hesitation. The shujigami, or “calligraphy paper,” which is so sensitive that the ink will bleed through it in seconds, is one's opponent and the brush one's sword. Every kanji, “Chinese character,” must be painted with a perfect asymmetrical balance, which like a person's balance in jujutsu, must be developed until it is maintained on a subconscious level. In fact, I have found my prior training in budo to be invaluable for sensing balance in shodo. And over the years, my study of calligraphy has enabled me to more precisely see and correct a lack of balance in the bodies of my martial arts students.

A PERFECT UNION OF MIND AND BODY

Shodo requires a balanced use of the mind and body as well as a state of mental and physical integration. As many novices in the martial arts have discovered, it’s sometimes difficult to make the mind and body work as a unit. To simply paint a straight line can be a surprising challenge, one that can be accomplished only through a coordination of one's faculties. In Japanese painting and calligraphy, a strongly concentrated mind must control the brush, and a relaxed body must allow the brush to act as an exact reflection of the mind's movement. Shodo, just as much as budo, demands this coordination. Through calligraphy practice the martial artist has an additional means of realizing the essential harmony of thought and action and a visible means of illustrating this state of unification. To achieve unification of mind and body demands a positive, concentrated use of the mind, along with a natural and relaxed use of the body. It is this enhancement of concentration and relaxation that many people, including practitioners of the martial arts, find so appealing.

Interested in Training with an International Martial Arts Association?

As part of the Shudokan Martial Arts Association, you can learn karate, aikido, iaido, judo, and jujutsu. If you’re ready to shine in your art at an international martial arts association, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here.

Want to see some authentic Japanese calligraphy? Check out H.E. Davey’s shodo gallery!